More wintry weather may be on the way

Saturday

Feb 23, 2013 at 3:07 PMFeb 27, 2013 at 12:55 PM

it appears Butler County is still on track to receive another round of winter weather Sunday night through Tuesday.

After a conference call with the National Weather Service this afternoon, it appears Butler County is still on track to receive another round of winter weather Sunday night through Tuesday. A Winter Storm Watch is currently in effect for our area as forecasters watch this system develop.

The exact track and timing of the storm is a little uncertain, but as of the latest update, NWS is placing us in the middle of a bulls-eye that could receive 6+ inches of snow. They have highlighted a couple of positives with this storm. First, while a “meaningful” amount of accumulation is anticipated, it will be spread out over a longer period of time and, therefore, accumulate more gradually than our last storm.

Secondly, they are showing the sleet chances as being off to the southeast, not over us. On the downside, the winds will be a much larger factor than with the last storm. Winds of 20-30 mph are possible, with even higher gusts expected just to our west. This could result in some serious blowing and drifting of snow, causing significantly reduced visibilities on Monday.

Current timing for this storm has it arriving in the South Central region (to the west of the Turnpike) in the middle of the night on Sunday, and continuing on east into our area by early Monday.

Due to the uncertainty still surrounding this system, the National Weather Service plans to hold another conference call tomorrow afternoon as the details come into better focus. We will publish another update as that information becomes available.